The present invention relates to a variable assist power steering system for vehicles and more particularly to a hydraulic control valve for use in a variable assist power steering system where it is desirable to have the degree of power assistance change with vehicle speed or some other variable related to the mode of operation of the vehicle.
A power assisted steering system can be characterized as operating under three driving conditions. Firstly during straight ahead driving at medium to high speeds, the power requirements on the steering system are extremely low and the degree of power assistance provided by the steering gear should be correspondingly minimized to permit the feedback of road "feel" from the tires to the driver. Secondary during medium and high speed passing and cornering maneuvers, a progressive increase in the level of power assistance with driver input torque is desirable. Nevertheless moderate driver input torques should still be maintained in order that the driver can feel adequately the dynamic state of the vehicle. Thirdly, and lastly, during low speed or parking maneuvers, the power requirements on the steering system may be large and fidelity of the steering system in terms of transmitting road feel is of little importance. Under these circumstances it is generally desirable to offer large degrees of power assistance, thereby minimizing the input torque required to be furnished by the driver.
The demands for optimum valve characteristics during the above three driving conditions conflict. Attempts have been made in the past to avoid the conflicting demands of the first and third driving conditions, namely the need to achieve a low level assistance for high to medium speed on-center driving while having high levels of assistance for low speed and parking maneuvers, by exploiting the fact that, for most valves, the degree of assistance varies with the flow of oil. For example, in one such widely used system, the power steering pump is caused to reduce the flow of oil as vehicle speed increases. However, this adversely affects valve performance in the second driving condition above, namely medium to high speed passing and cornering maneuvers, where progressive valve response is impaired due to the low oil flow. Also, in the event that such a steering maneuver requires rapid turning of the steering wheel, the lower pump flow may be inadequate, rendering the power assistance momentarily inoperative. In another known system disclosed in JP 56-38430 B2, a bypass path with a variable flow valve is connected between both ends of the power cylinder and the variable flow valve is controlled in response to vehicle speed to cause bypass flow to increase as vehicle speed increases. However, this adversely affects valve performance in the second driving condition above, namely medium to high speed passing and cornering maneuvers, where progressive valve response is impaired due to the low gain.
The most satisfactory method of matching valve performance in all three of the abovementioned conditions is modulating the valve characteristic with vehicle speed. A system which provides for better modulation of power assistance with vehicle speed is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,521 and can be seen to employ a rotary valve with primary and secondary valve portions. A speed sensitive valve is used to control oil flow from the pump to the secondary valve portion so that at high vehicle speeds a parallel flow path is provided between the rotary valve and the pump as oil is distributed to both primary and secondary valve portions. At low vehicle speeds, the speed sensitive valve restricts the flow of oil from the pump to the secondary valve portion. During parking maneuvers, the primary valve portion acts alone in the normal manner and the secondary valve portion is vented and not fed with oil from the pump. A change from a high level of power assist to a low level of power assist, and conversely, is effected by a variable force solenoid which is used to establish a parallel flow path from the pump to the secondary valve portion through a variable flow orifice. A speed sensing module controls the solenoid to open and close a variable orifice valve thus providing gradual changes in the level of power assist as the vehicle speed changes. The rotary valve used in this power steering system includes a valve housing having a circular opening which receives a valve sleeve. Positioned within the valve sleeve is an inner valve. The inner valve is formed with a primary set of longitudinal grooves forming a primary valve section, and also with a secondary set of longitudinal grooves forming a secondary valve section. The primary and secondary sets of longitudinal grooves register with primary and secondary sets of internal grooves formed in the internal wall of the valve sleeve, respectively. The primary and secondary sets of internal grooves are difficult to machine and require skilled labour because they have to be formed in the cylindrical internal wall of the valve sleeve with high precision. This has caused increased production steps and manufacturing cost.